I got to see the Cirque du Soleil show "Love" when I was in Vegas last week.  They let various bloggers see the different Cirque shows for free.  I had never been to Vegas much less one of the Cirque shows before. So I figured why not.

My friend Victor Cajiao and I went.  We put together a short video of the backstage tour we were given the day before we saw the show.  You can see the video over at Cirque du Soleil “Love” Review and Photo-Audio Backstage Tour

 

It was really interesting to see the level of work they have to put into a show like "Love".  There was not a thing out of place.  Nothing dirty or unorganized at all about the backstage (or in this case understage) areas.  You can also hear the genuine interest and care for the show that the folks have when you talk to them.  The show cast themselves are considered a type of critical equipment unto themselves.  The show provides them physical therapists and trainers to keep them in peak condition.  

 

The show itself is amazing.  Even if you have seen some of the behind the scenes.  The custom theater is in the round.  So there is something happening no matter where you look.  It is fun to pick out a few of the performers and watch them closely.  Each person is doing their own little touch to the show.  Even to the level of facial expressions and interaction with random people from the audience.  On top of the high production value and effort the show still tells an interesting story of the Beatles using their music as the main driver.

If you are in Vegas, it is certainly a show worth seeing.  And from what my friends say the other Cirque du Soleil shows are equally impressive.

• Cirque du Soleil - Love
• Cirque du Soleil - All Shows - Las Vegas

This is a fun little rig. I purchased the ped tripod adapter from http://www.thoughtout.biz/ Specifically I got the kit with the form holder meant for iPhones in a case and the adapter itself. You can find the actual kit at: http://thoughtout.biz/store/index.php?l=product_detail&p=39

I just happen to have a mini tripod for desktops. It came with an old kodak full sized tripod from Sams that I got as a Christmas gift a few years back. The ped adapter went on perfectly. Then the ped form holder just pushes in and the iPhone sits inside the holder. The adapter itself is just the L bar you see screwed into the top of the mini tripod. So if you already have a ped3 holder you just need the adapter itself.

Now I can turn on video recording with my iphone, put my canon S2 IS on the large tripod to record video and have a two camera video shoot. *lol*

Overall I am still disappointed in the quality the iPhone 3GS camera. It performs horribly in low light situations. I will grant the touch to get spot metering is nice. But it really needs a lock so once you dial in the settings you want you can frame your shot as desired. Still if the entire scene is low light you might as well give it up. You will not get a photo that you will want to show anyone.

If you have good full light, the camera can still make some good shots. You can even make some even niftier shots by using a combination of three programs. My friend Victor turned me onto these apps.

1. Camera Genius is a replacement camera app. There are several good features it brings to the table. First you can turn on a grid for framing up the rule of thirds. Second you can turn on stabilization which makes the camera shoot when the iPhone is the most still. This reduces chances of a blurry photo. You can even turn on noise based photo shooting. I liked this one because I could plug in my earbuds with mic and call out "shoot" without having to disturb the iPhone to press the camera snap button.
http://www.codegoo.com/

2. Auto Stitch is an app for stitching together a panorama shot. The tip here is take your photos vertically across the scene. So you get the tallest photo you can. You only have to take more photos going across the scene to make up for it. Overall it makes for a better thicker shot. This is especially handy when used with Camera Genius above and the voice triggered stabilized shots.
http://www.cloudburstresearch.com/autostitch/autostitch.html

3. Photogene has some great and easy to use image enhancement controls. Mainly I use the level and exposure controls. You have to offset the lack of detailed control the iPhone itself provides.
http://www.i-photogene.com/photogene/main.html

So add those three apps together with a well lit scene and you can still make some decent and interesting iPhone camera shots. Just don't rely on it as an impromptu camera for indoor or night time shots.

I get to go see the Beatles Love show here in Vegas tonight.

A little Vegas sunrise with my morning eggs.

I was sent a pair of earbuds with microphone for review. I reviewed them for http://www.ifrogz.com. They are the reflex with mic model. I really liked them for their comfort and quality. Usually I don't care for ones that are in ear. These fit so well and are noise isolating as a result.

Now I am using them on a plane. They are working out as well as I had hoped. They are doing a real good job on the noise isolation front.

The only issue I have had was one of the binding caps came off where the wire enters the earbuds. A little dab of super glue and they are like new.

In my last post I covered how I share my geo location information. Unfortunately it seems I wrote too soon.

Recently Brightkite upgraded to v2.0. A downgrade would be a better way to put it. Fireeagle and Brightkite no longer cross update. Then then claim to have simplified the privacy control. Yet it is nearly impossible to figure out how to set default location sharing levels by group now. Top it off public side sees no location at all anymore unless you make your exact location open to all.

I would avoid Brightkite completely until they get their act together. They should take a lesson from the old addage. If it is not broken do not fix it.

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Sent from my iPhone
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Continuing in the theme of where is your audience.. for knowing where you are the concern is whom you allow to know what level of resolution.

Now I don't always consistently update my location. Just randomly when the mood hits me. Or when I want to publish it. Sometimes I am other places and leave it on a certain location on purpose. Here is how I handle my geo location information. I start with my iPhone 3GS that has full GPS. On the iPhone I normally use the http://www.brightkite.com/ application because it makes updating my location stream one touch. Next if I have friends that I want to see my exact real location I can give them permissions from Brightkite as long as they have a Brightkite account.

The world at large I would rather just see city general location information. This shows up on my http://www.georgestarcher.com blog and in my twitter location field on my twitter profile. So I let Brightkite and Fireeagle cross control each other. Then I use the superb privacy per application link controls from http://fireeagle.yahoo.net/ to send only city level information to EagleTweet for twitter updating and my blog via a widget. One of the best things about Fireeagle is it requires you to regularly keep your account active for sharing. Think of it as a deadman's switch. If I fail to renew my authorization it stops all sharing to all apps tied to it. I have my renewal set to require it monthly.

Below is a diagram of the information path.

Sweet mug we got in the conference pack from Louisville Issa.

Another great talk. This one is Scott Moulton on hard drive data recovery forensics.